Robert D. Keppel, Ph.D. is a visiting professor of Criminal Justice at Seattle University. He spent two years as an associate professor at Sam Houston State University. He retired after 17 years as the Chief Criminal Investigator with the Washington State Attorney General's Office. He has over 29 years of homicide investigation experience. Among his many homicide investigation experiences, he has been a consultant to the Atlanta Police on the Missing and Murdered Children's Cases, a member of the national planning committee for the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) and a consultant to the Green River Murders Task Force, Seattle, Washington. He also served as a consultant to the El Paso Police Department in the Desert Area Serial Murders in Texas, the Austin Police Department in the Yogurt Shop Murders, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department in the New Orleans area prostitute murders, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office in the Nightstalker murder cases in California, and to the Oregon State Police in the Randy Kraft Murders in Oregon.
Dr. Keppel is the founder of the Washington State Homicide Investigation and Tracking System (HITS) that set the benchmark for how police handle information in support of homicide investigations. He was the project director for a federal grant from BJA entitled, “Managing Investigative Technologies, which was completed in 2002. He was the project director for an OJJDP grant entitled, "Investigative Case Management for Missing Children Homicides," which was completed in 1997. He was the project director for a National Institute of Justice Grant entitled, "Improving the Investigation of Homicide and the Apprehension Rate of Murderers," which was completed in 1989. He was the primary investigator for the King County Sheriff’s Department in the Ted Bundy murder cases in the Pacific Northwest and was present for Bundy's final confessions before his Florida execution. He has personally investigated, reviewed, or consulted in more than 2000 murder cases. He has lectured extensively to police officers at national seminars on homicide investigation. He has testified in trial as an expert on the method of operation of serial killers, the "signature aspects" of murder investigations, and police investigations.
Dr. Keppel is the author of several articles and four books entitled: The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations, published in 2003 by Academic Press, The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt the Green River Killer, published in 1995 by Pocket Books, New York, NY; Signature Killers, published in 1997 by Pocket Books, New York, NY; and Murder: A Multidisciplinary Anthology of Readings, published in 1999 by Harcourt Brace, Orlando, FL;Serial Murder: Future Implications for Police Investigations, published in 2000 by Authorlink.com.
Dr. Keppel received his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Washington in 1992. He graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Police Science and Administration in 1966 and a Master of Arts Degree in Police Science and Administration in 1967. Also, he received a Master of Education Degree from Seattle University in 1979.
Katherine M. Brown, M.A. received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government with a minor in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Sam Houston State University and is currently finishing her Doctorate in Criminal Justice at the same institution. Ms. Brown’s research interests include child abduction murder investigation, crime scene investigation, serial murder, offender profiling, forensic evidence and other solvability factors affecting murder investigations. Her prior experience includes employment in Texas State Government and the legal field. Prior to graduate school, Ms. Brown was the owner and founder of a successful marketing consulting business. Currently, Ms. Brown serves as the Assistant to the Director of the Forensic Science Program at Sam Houston State University.
Kristen Welch, M.A. received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Texas A&M University in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. She received her Master of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Sam Houston State University and is currently finishing her Doctorate in Criminal Justice at the same institution. Ms. Welch’s research interests include criminological theory, racial profiling, crime scene investigation, serial murder, offender profiling, victimology, sentencing disparities, indigent defense, forensic evidence and other solvability factors affecting murder investigations. Currently Ms. Welch teaches Criminology, Research Methods and Criminal Justice courses at Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice.
Contributors
Kathleen M. Born received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science, from Texas A&M University. Ms. Born worked for six years for two contractors with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in coordinating positions. She is currently working on her Master of Science in Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University.
Monica L. Brady received her B.S. in Biology and Chemistry at West Texas A&M University. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she gained experience with the Women’s Health Research Institute of Amarillo, a research lab at Texas Tech University School of Pharmacy in Amarillo, Texas. While there, she performed research for Inhibiting Long-Chain Fatty Acyl CoA Synthetase Does Not Increase Agonist-Induced Release of Arachidonate Metabolites from Human Endothelial Cells, which was subsequently published in the Journal of Vascular Research. Ms. Brady is currently working on her Master of Science degree in Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University.
Amy Carlson graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry in 2003. Her experience includes employment in an analytical laboratory for two years testing herbal supplements using specialized equipment; gas chromatography, spectroscopy, and high performance liquid chromatography. Ms. Carlson is currently working on her Master of Science degree in Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University.
Jamie Lee is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Forensic Science Program at Sam Houston State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in chemistry from Sam Houston State University. In addition to her coursework, Ms. Lee is employed part time as a bookkeeper/assistant service manager.
Anna K. Leggett is currently a student at Sam Houston State University enrolled in Master of Science in Forensic Science Program. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University in College Station, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Ms. Leggett’s interest in Forensic Science was sparked by her high school Chemistry teacher who inspired her to work towards her goal.
Sharla McCloskey received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from Wayland Baptist University. While in attendance there she was employed as a teaching assistant for the undergraduate Chemistry and Physics laboratories. Ms. McCloskey also participated in the planning and execution of the Teacher Quality Grant Programs funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board of Texas and carried out at WBU. She is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Forensic Science Program at Sam Houston State University with an interest in toxicology.
Ryan D. Mudd received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University. While pursuing his degree, he was employed under Dr. Robert Hildreth in the undergraduate organic chemistry labs. Mr. Mudd also worked as a teaching assistant in an undergraduate microbiology lab under the supervision of Dr. Charles Scanlan. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Science in Forensic Science degree at Sam Houston State University.
Stephanie Rollins graduated from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry. While there, she served as a research assistant in the Chemistry department and also participated in an internship for the Abilene Police Department’s criminal investigation division, primarily focusing on fingerprint evidence. Ms. Rollins is currently pursing a Master of Science in Forensic Science degree from Sam Houston State University.
Wendi Sanders graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in BioMedical Science and a Minor in History. Ms. Sanders’ experience included employment at the Human Genome Sequencing Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Her work consisted of mapping and sequencing all types of DNA including: the human genome project, monkey DNA, and starfish DNA. Ms. Sanders is currently pursuing her Master of Science Degree in Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University.
James Warkentine received his Bachelor of Science in Forensic Anthropology from Baylor University. His experience includes an internship in forensic entomology. Mr. Warkentine was a member of the golden key club and an active member of Baylor's forensic team. Mr. Warkentine continued his education in Chemistry at the University of Texas San Antonio where he worked for one year in an analytical lab. He is currently working on his Master of Science in Forensic Science degree at Sam Houston State University.
